Waltonpets Furtography Session: Queenie

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"Smell the flowers..."

Queenie photographed outdoors against a black backdrop. See yesterday's blog.

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The series below shows the stages from the in-camera shot to a final image. 

If Queenie could talk, she may have a story or two from her life. Queenie has two long scars from her hip down her back right leg. She’s also a little weak on that hip. Perhaps many years ago she had an accident or surgery. But she has adjusted just fine. Maybe at her age the arthritis in that hip creeps up on cold mornings. But doesn't age creep up on us all?! 

Queenie was picked up stray by an animal control officer on May 1, 2017. She’s a funny girl full of personality. She wants to bark to get your attention, but only manages a raspy breath and faint bark. She is content just to stand or lie nearby; a calm girl, confident at her stage in life. At one point during her photo shoot, she rolled over on her back, twisting and turning to scratch her back on the pavement… like a seal on the beach! She looked so content and with a happy twinkle in her eye.  
 
Queenie did fine meeting other dogs in the shelter. She didn’t really care to interact too much or go for a romp. But when they stopped to sniff her, she obliged without any aggression or growling.  I was pleasantly surprised when she tested heartworm negative. She was also vaccinated, dewormed and de-flead! 

Her duct-tape and wire-tied collar shows somebody "cared" for her, but nobody has come to claim this sweet senior. 

​“Queenie” was photographed on May 3, 2017 for the Walton County Animal Control Shelter. Intake slowed enough that Queenie got a second photo session in the Goldenrod flowers on May 5. She was rescued on May 12 by Believe in Buster Rescue Sanctuary! She was sponsored by Gigi, Lane, Alice, Lisa, D, Sara, Lorraine and Cyndi. 

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Last month I was able to get the full version of Photoshop.  I had been using PS Elements 11 for quite some time. But with new software comes a whole new level of learning. In my spare moments, I’ve been soaking up tutorial after tutorial on the internet and really taking advantage of editing in layers.
 
However, I’ve found there can be no end to tinkering with photos in Photoshop. Each adjustment can make the photo look intriguing. I can spend 20 minutes and settle on a final, awesome edit. Then I go back through making different adjustments, and now a better final, awesome edit. Then I go back through… well, you get the idea.

My first few shots were accidentally over-exposed and discarded. But on a rainy afternoon I played with those images in Camera Raw and Photoshop CS6 for fun and practice.  
 
In the long run, all that is needed is a decent photo so potential adopters have an idea of what is in the shelter. And perhaps all those meticulous edits aren’t that noticeable. But, if a little bit of extra editing can grab an eye, why not? Attracting a second look might mean the difference between adoption or euthanasia. Well worth every perfectionist edit!